Kuşadası, Turkey Port - Ephesus

Our port today was Kuşadası, Turkey.  We wanted to get up to Ephesus to see the ruins of the ancient city and I also wanted to check out the Turkish bazaar in Kuşadası.  Lesson in economics: to get a taxi at the port was 70 euro but Bracken had researched ahead of time and had another plan. We wandered around the city, using Bracken's trusty binder full of Internet instructions, trying to find the public bus ("dolmus"). In the search we found another couple trying to do the same thing. Together we looked and got far enough into the city we decided to get a taxi and it only cost us 20 euro (10 euro each couple).  Worth the walk!  Later we realized we were only a block away from the bus station when we gave up looking for it! 20 minute ride and we were at Ephesus. This was our favorite stop on the cruise.  There were ruins everywhere and they let you walk all over it.  You'd step on a stone and realize it had intricate carvings or ancient writing all over it. .  I took way too many pictures of random carved stones.

 My tour guide, Bracken, with his trusty binder of information from the Internet. I teased him about it but really we would have been lost without it!

 Ancient water pipes

 turtle trying to climb a hill--seemed a bit random so we had to take a picture. such tourists we are.

 Library of Celsus--this was amazing. You turned a corner and you could see down the hill this massive wall.  Pictures don't do it justice, I really wish I could see this when it was originally built!

 Where's Skye?

 Not only massive, it's full of intricate carvings 

Theater where Paul spoke to the Ephesians.  This was near the exit of the pay portion of the ruins, by the time we got down there it was getting busy and a lot of people were sitting down in the theater to soak it all in. As we were sitting there, s woman stepped down onto the stage portion and faced the crowd and belted out the entire 'The Star-Spangled Banner". She was a good singer and the acoustics were AMAZING, you could hear her loudly & perfectly.  Everyone went silent and then clapped and cheered at the end. The kind of experience that gives you goosebumps.

After Ephesus we headed to the nearby city of Selçuk but I'm going to put the rest of day on another post.